The gentleman appearing at 9:34 (who remains unknown at this stage) really spoke to me in that ‘direct’ kind of way, you know, when everything just makes sense.

So, all credit for this post belongs to him as I have directly quoted some of the key phrases from his presentation, simply because of the powerful messages he was able to relay so succinctly.

If anyone knows his name, I would appreciate any information you can share so I can acknowledge him correctly in this post.

SO, WHAT IS CANCER?

Cancer is a natural and normal process of the body. Cancer is A problem but not THE problem.

It is a sign that you have a “systematic metabolic disease that is resulting in a tumor or tumors growing in your body.

The tumor is a SYMPTOM but not the REAL PROBLEM”.

For many years, I have believed (or known?) that self healing would certainly be possible if and when we mastered the ability to realise our ultimate potential and when I look at the research today, not only have I found many many claims for NATURAL miracle cures, I have also found THOUSANDS of testimonials and documented evidence suggesting that we really CAN heal our own bodies.

It’s the reason why PLACEBOS work.

The problem is “we are nutrient deficient, overloaded with toxins and our immune systems are stressed or overloaded”. Our bodies are too busy eliminating toxins, digesting food and/or fighting infections – leaving no time for repair and regeneration.

All work and no play makes Jack a sick boy.

The cancer death rate has tripled in 100 years so comparing lifestyles from 1918 to 2018, what’s changed?

1. DIET

1918 – People ate fresh food that they grew themselves or traded from a neighbour. They ate fresh livestock that they raised themselves or was raised by a neighbour. In other words, they ate fresh food from the Earth.

2018 – We eat “processed man-made food that our bodies were never designed to eat” rather than foods “straight from the earth in their natural form, like fruit and vegetables”.

The Earth provides “everything for us and everything we need comes from the Earth”.

The concept really is that simple.

‘We are overfed but malnourished, we’re stuffed but we’re starving.”

What we are NOT getting is all the “valuable critical micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, enzymes, anti-oxidants and the thousands of phytonutrient compounds found in fruits and vegetables that support the body’s ability to heal and function at optimal levels.”

Meanwhile we are “polluting our bodies with fake food that our bodies don’t know what to do with” and we are literally “poisoning and polluting our bodies with processed foods”.

Yes, I am… Generation X that is

Generation X or Gen X’s were born after the Baby Boomers and before the Millennials.

There are no exact dates to define the start and end of Generation X although we generally use the birth years ranging from the early to mid 1960’s through to the late 1970’s to early 1980’s

The term “Generation X” has been used at times to describe an alienated youth., while the “X” refers to an unknown variable or to a desire not to be defined.

We were children at a time when society focused on adults rather than children, As teenagers our lives were overshadowed by ever-increasing divorce rates, broken families and we grew up with significantly less adult supervision than ever before. Kids who came home to an empty house who were unsupervised until a parent returned home from work were described as ‘latchkey kids’.

Interestingly, when I started school it was more or less expected that women would be stay-at-home mums who would take responsibility for managing the household and organising the family. In fact, whenever asked, I would actually tell people

‘I want to be a mum’

Fast forward 12 years and wtf? Now I’m expected to be super-mum and have a career as well.

Of course, another constant was the threat of nuclear war – WW3 was going to be the war to end all wars and it was inevitable that they would someday drop the bomb. This just added to the eternal ‘doomsday’ predictions.

The approaching new millennium proved to be an uneasy time for most. Who could forget Y2K? With computer systems that were unable to cope with a date change from 19XX to 20XX.

These are just some of the reasons why Gen Xer’s lived by the following motto.

“We’re here for a good time, Not a long time”

So, exactly what didwe want to be when we grew up? The answer was actually quite simple – we just wanted to be happy!

As I get older (and presumably wiser!) I continue to learn, what I like to call the ‘home truths’. Such as, the difference between being ‘happy‘ with what you have and being ‘content‘ with what you have. They can be perceived as two very different concepts which provoke pole opposite action and/or thought.

Many ‘truths’ are learnt from life experience and for me, they have been life-changing lessons. Lessons that touch you heart and soul and leave you with a peaceful, calm feeling within. In fact, my tagline (“Living Smarter, Not Harder”) was created to reflect my ‘revised’ attitude and outlook on life

The Great Dictator was Charlie Chaplin’s first film with dialogue. Chaplin plays both a little Jewish barber, living in the ghetto, and Hynkel, the dictator ruler of Tomainia. The final speech was written by Chaplin himself for the end of the movie as a call for peace from the barber who has been mistaken for Hynkel. It was criticized by many and said to be superfluous to the film. While others, myself included, found it uplifting.

Without a doubt, Chaplin’s words are as relevant today as they were in 1940.

Which leaves me wondering, how far have we really come? And are we even heading in the right direction? Perhaps we’re moving further away with every advance.

While I was thinking about my answer, I had a bit of a chuckle because it sounded very much like the answer I would give if ever asked what religion I followed.

You see, I don’t really identify with either one and I don’t want to say that I’m exclusively one or another because, well, you know I don’t know if I can resist dairy and cheese. One thing I do know, it’s that I want to reduce (not ready to ‘eliminate’) meat and animal products in my diet.

Ralph Smart (Infinite Waters) speaks often about his choice to eat a vegan diet and his reasons for doing so. A vegan diet was not really anything of a priority for me, all my life I had been naturally thin and had never needed to watch what I ate. Diet was never an issue for me until recently when I entered my forties. First of all, my eyesight started to deteriorate, then arthritis started to knock loudly on my joints reminding me that I’m not a spring chicken anymore and although healthy, I became concerned about stuff like Diabetes and Heart Disease.

For me, there was a definite moment in life when I finally realised, ‘f*ck I’m old. I’m closer to 50 than I am 40… WTF? Now, I’m not sure if this happens to everyone or whether I’m the only one that feels that way. For instance, I love to walk, especially out in nature, breathing in that good arse prana’ (one for the Deep Divers) and almost everyday for the past 6-7 years, you would find me out walking or hiking with my dogs. One day, I developed a twinging pain in my knee and thought ‘Gee, wonder what I did to my knee’. After a moment or two, I corrected myself;

And now, I have found a really important reason to start looking after my health and that reason is love. Meeting the man of my dreams in 2015 had a profound effect on my desire for a long healthy life. The longer I’m alive, the more time we will have to share during this lifetime. There is much we have to learn, countless memories to create and a love story that’s aching to exist.

So, when it comes to Vegan or Vegetarian? Well, I’m still not going to commit to either one but I will commit to eating more plant-based foods, more fresh fruits and vegetables and less meats and animal products.

Ralph from Infinite Waters has more information about the 7 Day Vegan Challenge and I will be using this as the starting point in my vegan journey. Perhaps you’d like to join me? If so. please leave a comment and keep me updated with your progress.

My ‘can’t-get-enough’ cocktail ingredient at the moment is (shhh!) – ice cream. In honor of *the artist formerly known as Prince*, I named my first recipe a ‘Spider Cruising In A Raspberry Beret’ as I was drinking them on the day his death was reported on the news.

Of course, it’s also a wonderfully delicious addition to Kahlua or Tia-Maria Milkshakes…